Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Seriously the whole of Toronto got punked during the G20 conference. It'd be funny if it wasnt also sad lol.

Prior to the event it was made known that the Premier and the Ontario government had passed in secret a law allowing police to search and arrest anyone within 5 metres of the G20 fence over the weekend.

While we were busy saying shame on the Ontario government for secretly passing such a law in secret and the police were actually enforcing this supposed law and stopping folks at random within 5 metres of the fence and just in general on the streets of downtown Toronto over the weekend for searches, this law never existed.

Whoa! How ya like dem apples?

So now everyone is upset cause we got lied to and in essence punked (without Ashton Kushner). What can ya say?

All I know is I can understand why folks are upset. Public officials of the stature of your police chief and premier aren't supposed to willfully lie to you like that. I mean politicians lie like crazy so we sort of expect that but the Police chief too. Damn! I'm sure they have their reasons but if they were telling lies about that then you get the sneaking suspicion that they are telling lies about other stuff too. Can we ever trust them again? That supposed trust between public and public officials is evaporating so what next? Does this mean the anarchists are winning? God forbid!

I was nowhere near the G20 protests this weekend but after watching the events unfold on tv all weekend I actually feel like I have some sort of post-traumatic stress. And if that's me, a simple tv viewer, imagine all the folks who were involved in the war that occurred on the usually peaceful streets of Toronto. It got so bad for me that at one point I switched from watching the live coverage to watching an extremely gruesome episode of Band of Brothers just to relax lol.

Now much will be written about what went down this weekend but I just wanted to say my two little cents based on a few more things I noticed Sunday.

First off, Prime Minister Harper judging by the above comment is sadly mistaken about Torontonians' views on this conference. We didnt want it here, we were unhappy that it was here and we were getting even more unhappy as the events on our streets were unfolding. The city was turned into an armed camp, draconian if temporary laws were passed, violence was inflicted on both our citizens and our businesses. Not exactly anything for us to cheer about Mr PM so why would we be happy? My mother always says you dont poke out your eye to please people and that is exactly what we in Toronto did here today or was done to us. To please foreign dignitaries Toronto had its eye poked out.

The Police whose response had been relatively measured on Saturday seemingly resorted to heavy handed tactics Saturday over night and into Sunday. It seemed to be a case of what was it George Bush called it some years ago preemptive strikes or basically if you looked suspicious or were someplace we didnt think you had no right being we were going to arrest you. Seems like they vacillated from one extreme of passivity on Saturday allowing the burning of police cars and vandalism of businesses along two of our major thoroughfares to an extreme of excessive force against citizens on Sunday. Shouldn't there have been some balance point in between doing nothing to what happened with numerous citizens claiming to have been arrested for no reason or hit by police batons? sigh!

Also where were our elected representatives and opposition politicians condemning what was happening as Toronto was getting a black eye. I only heard Adam Vaughn and Oliva Chow give their feedback. Oh and Mayor Miller who was soooo surprised by what was happening. Whatever dude! But I at least expected Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal opposition leader, who has been floundering in the polls to take this opportunity to say something positive and try to show that he actually is up on whats happening in this country. Dude you suck!

And while I'm calling out politicians and police leave no doubt that citizens too take much of the blame for this debacle. If ya see people doing foolishness stay your ass home. Dont leave to go down and add more conflict to the mayhem already ensuing.

I was shocked by the number of just curious onlookers and gawkers, taking photos as policemen tried to keep the peace. People who didnt really look like they knew what was being protested or didnt care one way or the other but just came out to be part of it as one youth said in a television interview just to say that they were there. Maybe its this generation weened on reality tv but for me I would think that violence on the streets is not a photo op. Seriously people you have a responsibility as citizens to be better than that.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Please note these are just my thoughts from watching this crap on TV as I was no where near downtown.

- Lawless so called protesters are breaking windows at people's stores. Doesn't even seem like most of the stores are big businesses just small man little mom n pop type operations. How is this helping anything? I wish someone would catch all the culprits and make them pay for the damages.

- The Mayor and Police chief keep saying that they didn't expect this level of violence. Really? Hello! Did you not see the same videos of fires and water cannons from protests at previous summits. G20 meetings breed violence, this is well known. What is this we didn't expect this crap. How can you say that and still have taken all these precautions?

- They just showed a picture of a couple down at the protests with a camera and their baby in a stroller. Seriously? You bring you baby down to a protest where 5 police cars were burnt. Where is children's services when you need them.

- Its interesting how people try to justify this assault on Toronto by saying its nothing compared to what people in other countries are experiencing. Really, that's your excuse for mashing up peoples livelihoods?

- And the argument that they are disenfranchised youth. So this gives them the right to throw feces into people's stores and smash windows at random. What a load of crap! Quite literally.

- Interesting all the so called protest crap and the G20 leaders are all but oblivious to the goings on on the street. While police risk their lives on the street to stop protesters Harper, Obama et al are all sitting down to dinner, relaxing. Got to love that!

- All things in perspective, the Toronto police have been relatively subdued. 150 arrested, didn't use any major tear gas or water cannons or sound cannons ....yet.

- Why does the Mayor keep insisting the violent protesters are all not from Toronto? I mean I think that a majority of them aren't from here, just professional rabble rousers but you have to be open to the possibility that there are some lawless Torontonians see this as a chance to start some ish.

- Amazing how many people are just down there to see what is happening and taking photos. I mean I love taking photos but no way was I leaving my home with a camera to go down to a violent protest.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Just as I was settling in @home guess who also arrived in Barbados but the International superstar Rihanna. Coincidence? I rather think not! I feel she stalking me but for what purposes I aint sure yet.Anyway I went to watch game 6 of the NBA finals at Bubbas last Tuesday and Bubbas get a fail from me. I was all set to say service in Barbados improving and actually in general the NISE initiative like um wukkin a bit but the Bubbas people unfair me. True I show up near to starting time for the game and the place was near ram pack but de hostess say dem had space showed us to a table wid chairs (the chairs part is important) and then as soon as we get dey they move the table widout the chairs and left we deyso standing up fa 10 minutes by a table wid no chairs looking fa chairs and dey coming back talking bout chairs real scarce. wha de rass! Wunnah tek the chairs associated wid de table wunnah tek we to, move the table minus chairs an den leff we lookin like poppits. Dat is not right. Wunnah aint gettin my money I went sumplace else meaning Lucky Horseshoe cause dem had both tables and chairs alright. I doan like to call nuhbody out but y'all was wrong Bubbas. Dun.

So yes I went to Bubbas game 6 and who should show up at Game 7 (probably looking fa me) at the said same Bubbas. Yes Rihanna (bet she aint had nuh chair issue though). Coincidence? I think not. I tell ya the woman after me. I gotta go back and read all dem articles I write bout she over the past couple a years and find out if I write something offensive cause she got some big able body guards and I aint want them to come an Chris Brown me. Oh wait was that reference too soon? My bad! Should have held that one back right? Whoops sorry Rhi Rhi. Look I might have to disappear fa true.

Dem was also debating in the Parliament bout some nice land that the government wanta gi to Rihanna fa free. Is how come nuhbody never offer me nor nun a de other bloggers land fa free. We duz promote Bim too ya kno. How come we cann get nuh land. An wha wunnah mean by the only land wunnah bloggers so looking to get is a 8x10 at Dodds? Hmmm

Anyways since I getting myself in trouble wid everybody in Bim (oh and sorry BR was hiding out so didnt give ya a ding. Ya can cuss me but ya gotta get in line) I wanted to say that I was a little surprised by all the publicity that Rihanna going to Bubbas to watch a finals basketball game got. I mean seriously people and I mean you The Nation, wunnah write a bigger article bout Rihanna watching the game, two big long pages in the print version wid numerous photos, dan wunnah write bout the actual outcome of the game (1/2 page one photo). Wha kinda tabloid-ism foolisness that is though? Wunnah really gine to the dogs fa true. I wud expect that sorta thing from the Stars and Inquirers of the world but wunnah supposed to a serious newspaper man. shame on wunnah!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

So the G20 meetings coming to Toronto in a couple a weeks and all the big boys gine be in town: Obama, Sarkozy etc etc. And yes I using etc etc cause I doan really know nuhbody else name besides Harper the Canadian PM ok. Doan confuse me like allya know wha the man in Russia and the man in China name.Oh yea I almost faget Germany got a woman an she name Mertle or Merkle something so.

Anyways well looka I dont know why they bringing this G20 thing to Toronto for. We aint ask fa um cause from looking at these previous meetings um look like utter chaos and confusion duz follow this gathering wid all sorta anarchists mashing up people city and burning fires and pelting big rocks at Police. Juss go pun youtube an look up video from previous G20 summits and tell me if it doan look like armegeddon decend pun the people streets, cuhdear. Why dem had to bring dat hayso to offset we city fa?

And when ya hear the shout this thing gine done an all dem heads a government gine be long gone home an we de poor citizens hayso gine gotta clean up all the mess that dem cause. That to me is bare lawlessness.

The other thing is that all a sudden ya hear G20 summit and the Canadian governments got money to spend. Almost $2 Billion dem spending so far they say. That is nuff noughts ya kno!

Yet before this ya shud hear how dem big boys in Parliament crying poor and telling people doan ask dem fa nuh money cause is a recession and money tight and scarce. Now all a sudden G20 an bram! coffers open wide and money cann dun spending on all sorts a stupidness fa this conference.

Speaking a stupidness, dem even building a fake lake down by the CNE for picture taking by the delegates. If ya doan know why this is a big pappy show ie bare fooolishness well all ya have to consider is that the CNE and the place where the conference holding is literally a stones throw from a natural lake, Lake Ontario, yet dese people spending money to mek a fake lake. Imagine that! Wha to me dat is worse dan how some people duz spend good money to buy up bottle water fa dem house when de taps could gi ya all the water ya cud eva want. chupse.

And money spending like water howyamean. This G20 aint easy at all. The people building big big fence in downtown Toronto to keep people in or out of certain areas and gine got all sorta soldiers and policemen manning this thing. Plus downtown dem tekkin up everything that aint bolted down cause dem frighten that the protesters come in an mash up the place. Even businesses telling dem staff amm looka wunnah might gotta tek a day off or wuk from home. Dat is how dread this thing is. Is like hurricane widout de rain and that aint nuh joke cause I sure before that G20 week dun out I gine look pun tv an see pieca galvanise flying through the air downtown.

Anyways like I said money money money spending on this thing which is really a shame cause when now after this ya hear something as simple as the school board need a few thousand dollars to keep a swimming pool open or the TTC scrunting fa ll cash as usual ya gine hear these self same politicians crying poor again and teling we to be self sufficient or raise taxes.

Oh well all I can do is hope an pray that muh workplace doan get burn down by these mad head people cause doan get me started on these protesters. Wha dem duz be protesting doah? Cause to me it duz juss look like an excuse fa lawless mob mentality behavior to tek place when these summits bout cause dem protests doan do nuttin but mash up the place, brek bare glass bottle, throw bare big rocks an cause de small man heartache.

Anyways I hope nuhbody doan lose duh life and I hope that the people that gotta wuk down in dat zone where all the confusion happening doan get caught up in this lawlessness and cause innocent people injury. That is that. The PM and he peole saying it gine put Toronto pun the world map, that is all well said but is worh being on the world map if ya city in ruins? Chupse, these people duz tire me ya!

I always find two things funny bout these socalled white "christian" people in North America eh. The first is related specifically to the wuns in the US. Why is it that they feel that everybody that run for some sorta political office got to be christian? Like if ya is from anudda religion ya cant be as good at running a country or a city or whatever organization cause supposedly ya have different values etc and will destroy the American way of life. Like being muslim or some other religion automatically makes you a worse person than they are. To me that is laughable.

And the second one and this applies to all all the white so called Christians in North America is that they duz assume that once ya got lil color in ya skin or lil accent or a name that they have trouble pronouncing ya cant be Christian or ya cant have grown up Christian ya wudd had to convert at some point later in life. Who fool these people or dem just fall victim to the fraud wid all them Europeanized pictures a Jesus and feel that them is the only ones that can call demselves Christian. I feel dat is why ya duz find churches so segregated up hayso in North America. chupse, dese people duz mek ya sick.

Friday, June 04, 2010

I received an email last night informing me about the testing of the new FM station CARN 98.7 FM here in Toronto. Strange name I thought, is that short for carnies or Carnival, I'm assuming the latter. The email went on to state "CARN is aimed at servicing Toronto’s vibrant Black and Caribbean population in the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding environs."

Now not to heap scorn on CARN and its developers, props to you all cause it sounds like it wasn't an easy road to get on the air but I will readily admit that I am a bit skeptical about any new station purporting to be aimed at the Black and Caribbean population of the GTA. Why you ask? Well once bitten twice shy is what I would say.

Way way back in the day about 10-15 years ago when mi hair was still black, full n lucious and mi knee bones din used to mek noise when I walk and I was still in University all we had in Toronto to listen to black and Caribbean music was a few specific shows usually early, early in the morning or late late at night on the local college community radio stations. Big up CIUT, CKLN and CHRY, the one at York that nuhbody east of the DVP can pick up clearly at all. We also had WBLK out of Buffalo which was our defacto rnb, mainstream hip hop station.

Along came an enterprising businessman who fought with the CRTC (Canadian Radio Television Commission) and with great support from the entire black and Caribbean community of the day won the rights to have our first ever Urban station in Toronto. Horns blew, trumpets sounded, high fives were exchanged etc. Finally we thought, 24-7 music from all over piped into the diaspora. Calypso, reggae, african riddims, zouk in abundance! Yipee, hurrah, huzzah etc etc etc.

The station FLOW 93 point something started off in fine fashion. In the early days it was living up to what we thought it was going to be. We was getting calypso, dancehall, reggae, zouk, all sorts of African tunes, real hip hop, nice r n b and all was well with the world. Almost had me believing that "If you believe it you could achieve it." Cue the R.Kelly why dontcha.

And then like so many dreams and schemes from entrepreneurs and businessmen who are quite like politicians in their own right, the dream turn sour. I remember one trip from downtown to Scarborough spent listening to Flow where I heard the same three or four rnb top forty songs about three times in the space of a 40 minute journey. And FLOW has since been like that continuously. Calypso and dancehall once again relegated, not a peep of african music and nothing but girbage (that is gibbrish mixed with garbage, I juss mek dat up add it to de lexicon) pumped steadily. Pure payola top 40 radio type crap.

So when I hear about CARN 98.7 like I said sorry I don't mean to be harsh but I think back to the days when Flow was supposed to be doing what CARN say they going do and to how my youthful idealism soon got crushed by the reality that this radio station thing ain't about no love of community is about getting that cash. How long before CARN becomes Flow Too. hmmmm

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Disclaimer: I aint claiming to have nuh fashion sense ya hear and disclaimer two I aint got nuh problem wid people an hair cause I got hair too but if ya did see wha I see at lunchtime today ya wud be saying de same ting I sayin now.

Walking down the road at lunch I see this young girl pushing a bicycle on the sidewalk. From the time I look pun she I say something wrong but is only on second glance that I realize wha the issue was. See the woman was wearing a t-shirt and a pair a dem three quarter pants dat de women duz wear I think wunnah duz call dem capris or something so.

Anyways see my girl, her arms and legs expose and her arms smooth smooth and hairless and the woman legs hairy hairy looking like she in need of an afro comb or like she is part hobbit.

Now like I say the issue din that she hairy, if she hairy she hairy I aint got nuh problem wid dat more power to she fa not conforming to the norms an ting so. No the issue was that she legs hairy and she wearing elf boots mekkin um worse and then in complete contrast to that she arms bare bare bare like the neck on a bare neck chicken, not a hair at all at all. Um was like somebody glue one body torso pun a different body else legs. Now I aint no fashionista but dat look like a fashion faux pas to me.